By KEVIN COLLISON
The Kansas City Star Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser said Wednesday that he opposed extraordinary tax breaks to help the Bannister Mall area redevelopment plan — incentives that backers say are vital for success.“It’s a wonderful project. I’m ready to sign off,” Funkhouser said at a development forum where he made a public appearance early in the day. “But I can’t stomach 23 years of Super TIF.”

Funkhouser later elaborated in a statement saying that while he was “excited” about the prospect of redeveloping the vacant mall property in south Kansas City, he wouldn’t support the $43.5 million in Super Tax Increment Financing being requested as part of the package to help finance the development.
Under Super TIF, all rather than just part of the local taxes generated by a project are diverted to help defray eligible costs.

The ambitious Three Trails redevelopment proposal, valued at almost $1 billion when fully built over 10 years, calls for a mixed-use development anchored by a new stadium for the Wizards professional soccer team. It would include a 12-field tournament-style soccer complex; a 250-room hotel; 609,000 square feet of retail space; and 610,500 square feet of office space.

The developers are seeking $273.3 million through a variety of local and state tax incentives to help finance the project.

“I want to see the Three Trails redevelopment happen,” Funkhouser said. “But I don’t intend to support the current plan without more thorough discussion and, at least, the removal of the Super TIF requirement, which redirects 100 percent of any new property, sales and earnings taxes back to the project.”

The development group backing the project, which includes top executives of Cerner Corp. and Lane4 Property Group, contends that Super TIF is needed to fill a financial gap for the project.

It remains unclear what effect Funkhouser’s position with have on the development group’s pursuit of the project at the Bannister Mall site. The developers have sought a decision by the Kansas City Council by the end of December to meet a construction timetable that calls for the soccer stadium to be open by spring 2010.
Project backers, who have considered alternative sites elsewhere in the area, could not be reached for comment after Funkhouser’s statement.

Besides the use of Super TIF, Funkhouser also objects to the plan’s provision that the city own the soccer stadium, saying it would require long-term expense and attention.

“The construction of the city-owned Sprint Center required a new tax and public vote, yet we are considering this plan with neither,” Funkhouser said in his statement. “I want to be sure we have thought through that decision and its fiscal impact on the city.”
The mayor’s announcement threw a new twist into a discussion that already had gotten off to a poor start earlier in the day.

At a meeting of the council’s Finance and Audit Committee, at which dozens of people testified, most favored the project. But Chairwoman Deb Hermann postponed a recommendation on the project after becoming frustrated by widely differing economic impact estimates submitted to her panel.

The city’s Finance Department issued an analysis indicating that the city would have a $41 million negative impact over the 23-year life of the project’s proposed financing. An analysis by the Economic Development Corp., in contrast, indicated a $45 million net benefit over the same period.
Both groups use different ways of evaluating the economics, and Hermann decided to seek additional time to sort out the issue.

Her committee has one more meeting scheduled before the end of the year.

“You just can’t give me a scenario with an $86 million swing,” Hermann said. “I’m not a financial expert. That’s why we have a Finance Department.”

Further complicating matters, Councilman John Sharp, a strong supporter of the Three Trails project, said Funkhouser had received a letter from state officials stating that any state aid for the project was contingent on the city’s granting the Super TIF assistance.

The project seeks $20.7 million in state tax-increment financing and $10 million in state tax credits.

Huh? An elderly lady from the community center I work at got her ass beat down and her car stolen in the parking lot a few months ago. It might be safe for me or you, but not for kids or the elderly. And this kind of thing happens there all the time. I could go there right now and find a few different types of drugs. The same can't be said for the walmart on 39th street.

No, I was talking about the blue ridge walmart. It's in an area that attracts the elderly because of being closer to senior communities than any other walmart/kmart/target/etc, but it's not safe for them at all.

The Unified Government who was tired of seeing it's mid to higher income residents move to JOCO. The way they planned out Legends, NFM, and the Speedway was brilliant. Too bad Legends has been mismanaged by it's owners and is now facing auction. I hope they are able to pull that together because it's a great destination before or after a game.

They've made some missteps like the waterpark on the wrong side of the highway, the soccer fields potential spot being contaminated. And the casino? Not sure it's even there anymore. I am still torn on whether or not LSP should have been on the other side of Legends. Maybe they couldn't secure that land. The parking at LSP is atrocious but given all of it's other pluses that negative isn't huge.

WYCO did something very good for it's community. I'm glad to see it flourishing and think that a stronger WYCO also makes for a stronger JOCO. If we could just get the morons on the other side of the stateline to get their act together the metro area could become something spectacular. Alas, everything that JACO touches seems to turn into a bigger mess than before they tried to fix it.

I'm just glad WYCO got their act together before they decided to try to build LSP in Lees Summit or Independence. I would not relish having to drive out there three or four times a month.

What is an LSP?

How's Schlittterbahn doing? We went to the one in San Antonio years ago and it was the best water park I've ever went to.

Legends is that outdoor shopping mall?

__________________
Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.

Ive been in my area 28 years. Ive not had any problems with crime in my area. They need to do something with that big hole in the ground. Turn it into a park, something.... its depressing driving by.

I lived behind Bannister Mall for 9 years by Blue Ridge (circa 1990-1999) I use to go to Bannister Mall all the time. Never felt unsafe there or in my neighborhood. Sure it was a bi racial/ethnic neighborhood, but so ****ing what? One neighbor was Palestinian, another old white couple, another a cop, another a black family. My son played with all their kids, they come over to our house just like it was a natural thing...because it was. They were good people and kids, that's all that mattered to us.

Some of you guys sound a tag discriminatory or at least have some preconceived views.

__________________
Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.